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Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in 2023 was estimated by ''The World Factbook'' at 59,367, making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However, according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022, the population was 47,720.

The islands are southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Cockburn Town, the capital since 1766, is situated on Grand Turk about east-southeast of Miami. They have a total land area of ., the European Union says , and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' says, "Area at high tide, 238 square miles (616 square km); at low tide, 366 square miles (948 square km)". A report by the Turks and Caicos Islands Department of Economic Planning and Statistics gives the same numbers as the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' though its definitions are less clear. }}

The islands were inhabited for centuries by Taíno people. The first recorded European sighting of them was in 1512. In subsequent centuries, they were claimed by several European powers, with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years they were governed indirectly through Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the islands received their own governor, and have remained an autonomous territory since. Provided by Wikipedia